Data is a big concern of the draft National e-Commerce Policy. Who controls the personal data that large e-com companies have come to access, can they exploit it, can such data be in non-Indian hands – all these questions have come into focus of the draft policy. And it has proposed setting up of a […]

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Google made a major announcement at the Games Developers Conference 2019 (GDC) by introducing its venture into the gaming industry. Nearly in line with what the speculations had been, Google launched Stadia, its new cloud-based gaming platform that relies on Chrome OS and Google servers to process memory-intensive files. Not only Google Stadia runs on […]

A US court in the state of California has dismissed lawsuit against Apple and Infosys over allegations that it abused the visa system to save money. The California federal judge nixed a whistleblower’s suit accusing Apple of bringing two trainers from India into the country using B-1 visas instead of the necessary and more expensive […]

The Indian Premier League (IPL) continues to be a magnet for brands to reach out to their consumers even as the TV broadcast industry is in the midst of its biggest change ever. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) new regulatory framework, which puts the power of choosing channels in the hands of the […]

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has directed broadcasters and distribution platform operators (DPOs) to provide the status of signing of interconnection agreement on a daily basis through email by 5 pm every day.

The interconnection regulation mandates all the broadcasters and DPOs to provide and carry pay channels only after entering into an interconnection agreement. The new directive from the TRAI was issued as very few broadcasters and DPOs had provided the status of the interconnection agreement.

“For all the broadcasters and DPOs to either renew or amend all their existing interconnection agreements by 29.11.2018. In any circumstances interconnect agreement have to be signed before providing signals or distributing pay channels under the new regulatory framework, as the case may be,” the TRAI said in its letter to the service providers.

“Therefore, you are again advised to comply with the new Regulatory Framework, 2017. All the service providers are requested to intimate the current status of the signing of interconnection agreements as per the new Regulatory. Framework, 2017 on daily basis through return e-mail latest by 5 PM every day, as per enclosed format,” it added.

The authority had on 5 December directed all the broadcasters and DPOs to intimate the status of the signing of interconnection agreement as per the new regulatory framework 2017 within seven days in a specified format.

However, only a few broadcasters and DPOs furnished the requisite information.

As per the regulations 9(1), 9(3) and 10 of The Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) Regulations 2017 dated 3rd March 2017, every service provider has to reduce the terms and conditions of their interconnect agreements to writing.

It further mandates that service providers will either have to renew or amend their existing interconnection agreements in compliance with the provisions of the regulations and the tariff orders notified by the Authority, within one hundred and fifty days of commencement of these regulations.

The regulation also prevents distributors from retransmitting pay channels of any broadcaster without entering into a written interconnection agreement with such broadcaster.

It is also mandatory for a broadcaster and a distributor of television channels to enter into a written interconnection agreement on the a-la-carte basis for distribution of pay channels.

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Data is a big concern of the draft National e-Commerce Policy. Who controls the personal data that large e-com companies have come to access, can they exploit it, can such data be in non-Indian hands – all these questions have come into focus of the draft policy. And it has proposed setting up of a […]